A line from an ancient poem reads: “Adversity makes you feel that you will die,” meaning that sometimes the suffering you experience not only fails to elicit sympathy but instead attracts more sinister schemes and kicks when you’re down. Your pain can only be borne by yourself.
Rao Xian lay weakly in his hospital bed, his face pale and his expression exhausted.
Just now, Ye Yuning’s stepmother had caused a scene, even pushing Rao Xian in his bed. The weakened Rao Xian was physically and mentally exhausted from dealing with it. It was Long Xinyu who arrived, angrily ordering the security to remove her and then calling the doctor to examine Rao Xian.
After the examination, the doctor told Long Xinyu that the wound hadn’t been disturbed.
Long Xinyu waved the doctor away, brought over a chair, and sat carefully by Rao Xian’s bedside, asking, “How are you?”
Rao Xian shook his head, indicating he was fine.
Long Xinyu looked at his face and said, “Want to talk?”
Rao Xian turned his face away, unwilling to say more.
Seeing his condition, Long Xinyu couldn’t help but ask, “You and Ye Yuning’s family don’t get along?”
Seeing Long Xinyu’s persistent questioning, Rao Xian avoided the important and dwelled on the trivial, saying, “Isn’t this our family’s hospital? Can you just kick people out like that?”
Seeing that he seemed unwilling to talk, Long Xinyu didn’t press him, instead teasingly said, “It’s not our family’s hospital, but my brother has shares here. If you want, you can throw your weight around here.” He paused, wanting to reassure Rao Xian, and continued, “Don’t worry, I’ll tell the security not to let those people bother you again.”
Rao Xian twitched the corner of his mouth and said nothing. As a police officer, he had seen all sorts of people. Rao Xian’s first impression of Long Xinyu was that he was a typical rich second-generation, a carefree playboy. But upon closer contact, he found that this person didn’t act superior because of his good family background. Instead, he was forthright and very righteous. During the investigation of Min Jun’s murder, the hotel’s surveillance clearly recorded Long Xinyu kicking Min Jun, who was harassing Luo Pingping. And in the restaurant, Long Xinyu disregarded his own safety to save that boy. All of this made Rao Xian feel that Long Xinyu was a good person.
Now, Long Xinyu was helping him out again, making Rao Xian, who originally didn’t want to say anything, unconsciously want to confide in him: “Xiao Ning’s mother died when she was very young. Her father remarried, and that woman didn’t treat Xiao Ning well. Her father didn’t protect her either, sending her to boarding school. Xiao Ning was a girl, a bit introverted, and didn’t have many friends. She was always lonely. Once, when she went home for the New Year, she missed her mother and cried secretly. That woman saw her, scolded her, and she ran out. After that, she didn’t go back much.” Rao Xian recalled his moments with Ye Yuning, then looked at Long Xinyu with some bitterness: “I originally wanted to protect her for the rest of her life, but unfortunately…”
When Ye Yuning died, her stepmother had never been happy for her. Now that she was alive, she went to make a scene, just putting on a show.
Long Xinyu looked at Rao Xian: “What about you? These days, besides your subordinates, I haven’t seen your family come to see you.”
Rao Xian lightly twitched the corner of his mouth: “My mom passed away early, and my dad was a police officer who also died in the line of duty…”
A single sentence summarized so much of the past. Long Xinyu couldn’t bear to ask more. Everyone has their own unspeakable past, hiding many unknown experiences that can’t be shared with outsiders.
At this moment, the door of the hospital room was knocked a few times, and then it was pushed open from the outside. Xiang Ze rushed in, glanced at Rao Xian, and then said to Long Xinyu, “Long Xiuyu came to attend Min Jun’s funeral. There was an explosion and a fire at the funeral, and Wenren Ying was injured and just taken to the hospital.”
Long Xinyu immediately asked, “Wenren Ying is injured? Is it serious? My brother went to the funeral too, how is he?”
Xiang Ze said, “Long Xiuyu is fine, Wenren Ying—uh—”
Xiang Ze’s hesitation made Long Xinyu’s heart skip a beat: “What’s wrong with Wenren Ying? Is the injury very serious?”
Xiang Ze shook his head: “No, when the fire started, Wenren Ying and Long Xiuyu jumped out of the window together—he twisted his ankle and was scratched by the nails on the fence!”
Long Xinyu: …
Unable to bear to criticize Wenren Ying, Long Xinyu only instructed Rao Xian to rest well, telling him that he could tell Xiang Ze and the nurse about anything he needed. He was going to see his brother and Wenren Ying.
Rao Xian originally wanted to decline, but seeing that Long Xinyu was clearly worried and didn’t feel at ease leaving him, he agreed, guessing that there was another case.
Long Xinyu instructed Xiang Ze to keep an eye on Rao Xian and hurried to the Out-Patient Unit that Xiang Ze mentioned. He hadn’t even entered the door when he heard a lot of noise from inside.
He pushed the door open and saw Wenren Ying berating a young nurse. Long Xiuyu and Li Guang were smiling wryly on the side.
“What’s going on?” Long Xinyu was confused. Wasn’t Wenren Ying injured? Looking at him, he didn’t seem seriously hurt, and he had plenty of energy.
Seeing Long Xinyu arrive, Long Xiuyu gave the young nurse a look, and the young nurse rolled her eyes at Wenren Ying and left, making Wenren Ying even angrier.
Li Guang complained to the clueless Long Xinyu: “Our young master Wenren not only twisted his ankle when he jumped out of the window, but he was also scratched by a nail on the fence in the flower bed. When the nurse cleaned his wound and gave him a tetanus shot, he complained that she was hurting him, so the nurse jokingly said to him, ‘Don’t be a wimp,’ and he started lecturing her.”
Long Xinyu blinked, a little speechless. Wenren Ying wasn’t usually the type to be unable to take a joke, so what was wrong with him?
Wenren Ying refuted unhappily, defending himself: “Was she joking? That was sarcasm, sarcasm!” Then, seeing the expressions on everyone’s faces, his tone softened: “Isn’t this a stress reaction from being frightened? My mind is full of the memory of people burning to death.” Mentioning this, Wenren Ying felt as if he could still smell the burning flesh in the air, as well as the inhuman screams, making Wenren Ying shudder.
Long Xinyu asked about what had happened.
Li Guang recounted what had happened at the Min Family Manor. After the explosion, the person on fire rushed inside, causing a big fire. Luckily, it was on the first floor, and they smashed the windows and escaped. Besides being frightened, they were mostly unharmed. The police and fire department arrived quickly. According to the people in the front hall, when that person approached Min Jun’s coffin, the coffin suddenly exploded and caught fire. The exploding fragments burned that person, who was covered in flames and running around wildly, causing a sea of fire.
The first floor of the manor was affected by the explosion and the fire on that person and burned up. The fire department came and put out the fire, but the memorial hall and the main hall were a mess. The cause of the explosion and the fire was still under investigation. Min Jun’s coffin and body were destroyed beyond recognition.
Min Bocai was so shocked that he fainted on the spot and was taken to the hospital.
Long Xinyu scratched his head. The Min family was really facing one disaster after another!
Long Xiuyu said with a grave expression: “The people in the front hall said that the person who was burned alive was Pei Lei, the one who handled Xu Ming’s firearms.”
Long Xinyu was surprised and instinctively said, “Killing the messenger?”
Wenren Ying, while gingerly moving his wrist, said: “It’s not just killing the messenger, Min Jun’s body was destroyed too. This time, the old man Min is also down. From start to finish, this whole thing seems to be aimed at the Min family.”
Long Xinyu doubted: “If it’s aimed at the Min family, then what about my shooting and Luo Pingping’s murder? Collateral damage?”
This indeed didn’t make sense. Everyone was silent, each pondering. From the moment Min Jun was killed, things had been happening one after another, and people were dying one by one, but they couldn’t find the connection between them.
Unable to figure it out, Wenren Ying pursed his lips: “Tsk, the clues are cut off again. Speaking of which, if it weren’t for Lu Ye’s quick reaction, we might not have just suffered these minor injuries.” As he said this, he looked at his bandaged wrist. Fortunately, the injury wasn’t deep, and the blood hadn’t seeped through. The tetanus shot should prevent any major problems.
Li Guang mocked him: “You were saying earlier that nothing would happen in broad daylight. As a result, you were almost wiped out. Although it doesn’t seem to be aimed at you, shouldn’t you investigate this matter thoroughly?”
Long Xinyu said: “Let the police handle the investigation. They’re the professionals.”
Wenren Ying retorted: “Yeah right, professionals. Their criminal investigation captain is still lying in the hospital.”
Long Xinyu was unhappy: “Hey—Wenren Ying, why are you so argumentative today? I’m telling you, you can say anything you want, but don’t talk about Rao Xian. He’s my savior. If it weren’t for him, would I be standing here properly? Don’t vent your anger on everyone you see just because you’re upset. It’s just that our family’s nurse said you weren’t manly enough!”
Mentioning this made Wenren Ying purse his lips. He turned to Long Xiuyu and complained: “Brother, you’re injured, and Xinyu is still making fun of you. The nurses at my hospital are also sarcastic and unsympathetic to you. Can’t I say anything?”
Long Xiuyu slapped Wenren Ying’s bandaged hand: “With you jumping around so energetically, you don’t need any sympathy. Seeing that you’re okay, you guys chat. I’m going back to the company first.” As he said this, he got up to return to the company amidst Wenren Ying’s screams of pain.
Seeing that Wenren Ying was fine, Long Xinyu was too lazy to bother with him. He stopped his brother, saying he would go with him to see Rao Xian.
Wenren Ying mocked Long Xinyu from behind: “You’re so concerned about a man, have you fallen for him?”
Long Xinyu retorted angrily: “Get lost, watch your mouth. I’ll say it again, he’s my savior. Show him some respect.” Only then did he say to Long Xiuyu: “Brother, investigate the Min family matter again, to prevent any more problems.”
“Yes, I’ve already asked Lu Ye to investigate.” Long Xiuyu replied and left first.
Long Xinyu also turned back to Rao Xian’s hospital room.
Li Guang stayed to accompany Wenren Ying until the nurse brought his medicine.
Long Xiuyu left the ward, turned the corner to wait for the elevator, and took out his phone to send a message to Lu Ye, asking him about the situation with the Min family and if Pei Lei was still alive, and if there were any other clues. At this time, Sha Rou, who had just visited Rao Xian, turned the corner from the hallway.
Sha Rou saw Long Xiuyu and, remembering him from when she had seen him outside the operating room during Rao Xian’s surgery, nodded in greeting.
Long Xiuyu also saw Sha Rou and nodded politely.
At this moment, with a “ding,” the elevator arrived.
Long Xiuyu, while sending a message, stepped aside, planning to let Sha Rou enter first. He glanced up and saw a young man with dyed yellow hair in the elevator. He was pale and fat, and his clothes didn’t look clean. Long Xiuyu unconsciously frowned. He inadvertently saw the shiny elevator wall reflected the yellow-haired man’s right hand behind his back. In his hand, he was holding a gleaming knife. Long Xiuyu was stunned.
Sha Rou was about to step into the elevator when the yellow-haired man quickly stepped out of the elevator and raised the knife to slash at Long Xiuyu’s throat.
Long Xiuyu was shocked and instinctively stepped back.
Reacting even faster than him was Sha Rou, who brushed past the yellow-haired youth. Sha Rou struck the yellow-haired man’s right arm with an elbow, and the yellow-haired man’s knife veered off, not hitting Long Xiuyu.
Immediately afterward, Sha Rou turned around and kneed the yellow-haired man in the abdomen. Unexpectedly, the yellow-haired man was very agile and spun away, dodging the attack. He also used his shoulder to bump Sha Rou’s back, knocking her off balance. She crashed straight into the elevator doors, which were about to close, with a “bang.” Clearly, she had been hit hard, and the elevator doors that had been splitting apart suddenly closed again.
The yellow-haired man broke free from Sha Rou and swung the knife again at Long Xiuyu.
Long Xiuyu had no fighting experience, but he was, after all, a grown man. Instinctively, he dodged the stabbing knife. His left hand, which was holding his cell phone, slapped the yellow-haired man’s cheek without hesitation.
The yellow-haired man dodged his head, and the knife in his hand slashed upward, fiercely stabbing at Long Xiuyu’s arm.
Sha Rou, who had just crashed into the elevator, ignored her painful shoulder and kicked the yellow-haired man’s wrist from the side. Her kick hit the yellow-haired man’s arm, and it bounced up, not stabbing Long Xiuyu.
Sha Rou spun around and forcefully jabbed her elbow into the yellow-haired man’s chest. The yellow-haired man staggered back a few steps and crashed into the elevator.
At this time, Long Xiuyu shoved his phone into his pocket, grabbed the metal trash can by the elevator entrance, stepped into the elevator, and raised the trash can to smash the yellow-haired man in the elevator.
With a loud “bang,” the yellow-haired man was hit squarely and fell backward in the elevator, dropping the knife in his hand.
“Bang—bang—bang—” Long Xiuyu grabbed the trash can and ruthlessly smashed it down on the yellow-haired man. The yellow-haired man was hit and rolled around, covering his head with his hands.
“Hey, stop! Smashing him again will kill him!” Sha Rou hurriedly went over to stop Long Xiuyu.
Long Xiuyu seemed not to hear. He swung the trash can in his hand and smashed it down on the yellow-haired man’s body.
“Stop hitting him!”
Sha Rou had no choice but to grab Long Xiuyu’s raised arm.
Long Xiuyu felt his hand sink. He turned his head and saw Sha Rou hanging on his arm.
The yellow-haired man on the ground took the opportunity to roll out of the elevator. Coincidentally, another elevator opened at this time, and several people walked out. Seeing a bloodied man running towards them, they were so frightened that they retreated back into the elevator, frantically pressing the door open button.
Seeing that the yellow-haired man was running away like a madman, Sha Rou quickly let go of Long Xiuyu and went to chase him.
Long Xiuyu picked up the trash can and chased after him for two steps. Without saying a word, he threw the trash can in his hand hard at the yellow-haired man’s back.
Perhaps stimulated by adrenaline, he threw it quite accurately. With a “thump,” the yellow-haired man was hit squarely by the trash can, staggered, and fell to the ground. This kind of stainless steel trash can was quite heavy. The yellow-haired man had already been hit a few times, and he couldn’t get up so quickly after falling down. He was pinned down and handcuffed by Sha Rou, who had caught up.